The novelist and politician Edward George Bulwer-Lytton (1803-1873) wrote, “Every man who observes vigilantly, and resolves steadfastly, grows unconsciously into genius.”
Across the Atlantic, the essayist and naturalist Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) wrote, “People only see what they are prepared to see.”
Kyle Ma may not be aware of his genius, but he acknowledges, “I do notice some details maybe more than other people.” His online biography comments on “the idea of making careful observations and seeking to understand these observations, a skill Kyle feels is extremely important in art.”
Backlit Dahlias, oil, 9 x 12 in.
As for the prepared mind, his last course before receiving his bachelor’s degree in geology at the University of Texas, Austin, was a six-week field trip from Texas to Montana, mapping, studying geological history and getting up close to different rock layers.
“Observation really is key to trying to paint representationally at a high level,” he explains. “There’s a lot of subtlety. I like to go beyond the obvious, to more than merely glancing at something. I like something that invites me to look longer, to see nuances.”
View of Bolton Abbey, oil, 17 x 24 in.
One of the paintings in the exhibition Light, Land & Legacy: The Art of Kyle Ma at Legacy Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona, is Piazza Navona, a painting of the Neptune fountain in Rome’s Piazza Navona which he sketched on a recent visit. Commenting on the different qualities of light he’s experienced in his travels, he observes that, “In Italy and its Mediterranean climate, there is very strong light—reflective light. In the Piazza Navona there was a lot of reflected blue sky light. It bounced off the structures and into the shadows. The turquoise water in the fountain reflects light into the sculptures, showing different colors of light in the different planes of the sculpture—making a white sculpture appear very colorful. In the studio, this was one of several paintings exploring that idea.”
Piazza Navona Fountain, oil, 12 x 20 in.
Working on site, he creates pencil and color sketches which he takes back to his studio. “Painting in plein air,” he says, “you get to observe the subject first-hand which develops a unique connection with memory. You can’t replicate that if you’re only working in the studio. I can look at a plein air sketch to help me remember the feeling of a place, and the colors and values, which I use to inform me when painting a more ambitious, larger painting in the studio.”
Morning at the Salute, oil, 16 x 20 in.
A showcase of his new work, Light, Land & Legacy: The Art of Kyle Ma, will take place Thursday, February 12, during Scottsdale Art Walk from 6 to 9 p.m. —
Legacy Gallery 7178 E. Main Street • Scottsdale, AZ 85251 • (480) 945-1113 • www.legacygallery.com
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